The new harness racing season began in exciting fashion on Saturday night at Vesey Street with the 18-race card attracting what officials believe to be a record attendance as Roque Stables placed an impressive nine winners.

Joe Correia, driving Gold Mate, showed everyone that he has been training hard with two victories in the 1:09/2 to 1:1 B Division. His success was mirrored by Eddie Roque, his stablemate, who dominated the A division of the same time bar aboard LA Pocket Rocket.

Roque posted a winning time of 1:1 in the first race with Colin Mello second on Miss LL Dane and Jayne Dunmore, a rookie driver, third on Jandy's Giddy Up.

Roque needed a marked improvement in the second race as he was pushed home in 1:10/1 by Bill Booth, who did a good job on LA Winning Ticket.

Gold Mate won her heats in 1:11/1 and 1:10/1, which was an impressive achievement given that she was racing in the B Division.

David Sousa, another new driver, was second in the first race on Grand Magic while David Lopes, the club president, pushed Correia in the second race, finishing in 1:10/3 aboard LA Erma Time.

Race three provided most of the excitement with two rookie drivers on the track for the 1:1 to 1:13/3 time bar.

Lyndia's Dream, with Gregory Bean, the new owner, looked to have won the race but was set back for an infringement. This opened the path for Tuxedo's Prince, driven by Catrina Adcock, to win in 1:14 with Philip Correia and Nateway second. Bean atoned for his earlier error with a convincing performance in the second race as Lyndia's Dream won in 1:1.

The highlight of the night came in the 1:07 and faster division, which boasted the three fastest ponies in the Island - and they did not disappoint.

Roque returned aboard Tuxedo's Bow Tie to outduel Grand Shady, the track record-holder driven by Michael DeCosta, in a time of 1:08/2. But Nicholas DeCosta returned for the finale with GV Colonel Spence in a blaze of glory.

The pair won in 1:07/2, the fastest time of the night, with Tuxedo's Bow Tie and Grand Shady well beaten in 1:08/1 and 1:09/1 respectively. Racing continues on Saturday at 6.30 p.m.

Full results

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